Safe
by leiasbunsofsteel
Summary: After a fight, Han and Leia share a tender moment on Hoth as the two finally open up to each other.


"I guess you don't know everything about women yet," Leia sneered to Han, as she went over to Luke, and planted a firm kiss on his lips. She then glared at Han once again, before storming out of the room in a fit of rage. Leia was angry. Angry because Han was infuriating. He knew how to push her buttons and cause her to act out. She was angry because she felt bad for kissing Luke. A sudden wave of guilt washed over Leia. Thinking about it now, the kiss was quite immature on her part…yet she did it anyway. Why? To make Han jealous? Leia's face scrunched up in disgust. Han Solo. His name alone made Leia's blood boil. The things he did and said got her even more enraged. Leia took a deep breath and stared up at the icy blocks that encased the snow tunnel. Closing her eyes she played through the scenario again. Her thoughts were cut by an echoing voice down the icy cavern.

"Hey, Princess."

Leia refused to turn around, for she knew exactly who the voice belonged to. Instead, she walked further away from the voice, and towards the general direction of her quarters. Suddenly a calloused hand grabbed her arm and she jerked around in surprise. "Your highness," Han began, sounding a little more sarcastic then intended. Han was met with a deadly glare. He chose to ignore her scowl and continued on. "A moment, Princess?"

Leia narrowed her eyes and jerked herself away from Han's grip on her. "What? To talk to you? No offense Captain, but I'd rather sleep in a Tauntaun's dirty pen than speak to you right now."

"Ouch, I'm hurt your _royalness_." Han puffed out his lower lip, before slightly smiling. "Come on. I just want to talk."

"About?"

"About what just happened…" Han trailed off, scratching the back of his head. He wasn't exactly sure where this conversation was going; but from the current standpoint, it was going south very fast. Han was determined to change that. He was about to speak when Leia interjected however.

"Oh?" Leia asked, sounding clueless to what he was alluding to. In reality, she knew _exactly_ what he was trying to say. "Does it have anything to do with the fact that you made up lies about things that never actually happened?" Leia began, slowly walking toward Han, her expression stern and unmoving. In response to her advances, Han backed up on instinct, his rear hitting the snow-covered walls behind him. Leia got close to his face, as she continued to stare him down. Her large brown eyes met his hazel ones. Han knew Leia was pissed, but from this angle, she looked downright gorgeous.

Han discarded his thoughts and responded to the furious Princess "In my head, it didn't sound as serious as it actually turned out to be. It was just supposed to be a joke. Sorry you can't handle a little joke, sweetheart."

"First of all, don't call me sweetheart. Second, your "joke" was hardly even a joke." Leia rolled her eyes. What she really wanted more than anything was an apology, but she knew _that_ would never happen. What he said next however surprised her more than anything on this frozen wasteland of a planet.

"Look…I'm sorry…" Han said slowly. "I really didn't mean to upset you. I was just playing around because I thought we were close enough as…friends. But I guess I was wrong."

Leia's snarl quickly vanished, as she was at a loss for words. For once, the Han Solo she knew was gone. He was taking responsibility for his own actions, something he rarely did. After moments had passed, she finally spoke. "It-it's fine," Leia stammered. "I guess…maybe I was just taking it a little too personally." Leia looked down to the floor. "I've never really had much experience with things like this…growing up as a Princess, I never really had much time for boys, let alone friends." Leia suddenly stopped. Why was she opening up to him all of a sudden? Why did Leia suddenly feel like she could completely trust him with every secret she had? Like she could tell him her entire life story and that he would listen and understand. Leia shook her muddled thoughts away and continued, "But anyways…that's not important. I'm going to go back to my room. Goodnight Captain Solo." Leia gave him a small nod before turning around, only to be caught once again by the Corellian smuggler.

"Wait. Let's talk some more. We were getting along just now."

"I don't know if that's the best idea." Leia stated firmly.

"Come on Leia," Han began. He felt weird saying her first name, but he felt like at this point in time, it was only the right thing to say. "I think it would be a good idea to talk."

"Alright, Han, what do you wanna talk about?" Leia asked with a small smile. It might be fun to talk to someone on a human level for once, instead of barking out military commands to rebel forces, or giving political speeches on other planets. She could just be Leia, not having to worry about someone analyzing every word she said.

The two began to walk down the corridor. "Well, we have the whole night," Han started. "We can talk about anything and everything."

Leia tried to keep the conversation light and playful, rarely mentioning anything related to work and politics. Han told Leia a lot about his life in Corellia, and all of the adventures Chewie and him went on. Leia actually found his story-telling to be very compelling and delightful. He was able to describe situations in such great detail that she felt like she was there, on the adventure with him. Every once in a while, the two would make smart remarks at each other. But this time it was different. It wasn't hurtful or malicious, it was playful…almost flirty? Leia thought for a moment, was Han flirting with her? She shook the silly thought aside though, and continued their conversation.

"And one time, Chewie and I were getting chased out by these two Jawas. _Apparently_ we weren't supposed to touch anything they were trying to sell off, but how was I supposed to know? I don't speak Jawaese!" Han laughed to himself, as he was telling Leia one of his crazy stories as a smuggler.

Leia let out a small chuckle, "If only C-3PO was there to translate for you!"

"Ah, very true. Although, I will admit Threepio's know-it-all comments can get annoying." Han admitted.

"Well, he _is_ a droid after all. He's programmed for that exact purpose: to have knowledge about most things in the galaxy."

"Yeah, he is definitely growing on me a little." Han's mind wandered as he thought about all the things they talked about. The two had covered most topics, everything from favorite galactic treats to the most exciting adventures they've been on. One subject Han was curious to ask was a subject he knew was sensitive to the Princess. He decided to proceed with the question anyway. "So… tell me about your childhood. I'm just curious. You mentioned that you didn't have many friends growing up because of your royal status. So what was that like?" Leia suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"My childhood…on Alderaan was nice. My parents were very kind, but also strict. They taught me everything I know today, along with my aunts. And I'm grateful for it. I wouldn't be the successful rebel leader I am today without them…" Leia trailed off, a wave of sad nostalgia washed over her.

"You certainly do know a lot. They prepared you well. How you're able to take command and lead people. It's really amaz-" Han was cut off by something Leia said that nearly broke his heart.

"I miss them." She whispered softly. "I really miss them so much." Han was speechless as he watched the resilient Princess crumble before his very eyes. Her whole body began shaking as tears ran down her gentle face. "It's my fault. It's my fault that Alderaan is gone. All of those people…I let them down. And it's because of my foolish actions and blurred judgement that I let an entire planet get doomed by Vader." Tears rolled down her cheeks. Leia hated crying. It made her feel weak and vulnerable. Two qualities a Princess, and ruler should not have. She turned to face away from Han, her level of embarrassment quickly rising.

Han felt stupid. Stupid for asking such a question. He should have known asking a question like that would upset her. And once again, his words hurt her. "Leia, it's not your fault. You did all you could to protect your people. Don't blame yourself for things you can't control. Darth Vader is an evil, evil man. His actions have nothing to do with you." Han glanced to Leia, hot tears slowly dripping onto the snow-covered floor. What Han did next not only surprised Leia, but also surprised himself. He wrapped his arms around the tiny Princess, and pulled her into a comforting, warm hug. He rubbed her back and soothed her.

It was times like these that Han remembered that Leia was still very young. She was barely an adult, yet she constantly had an enormous amount of pressure on her. So many people were counting on her leadership and guidance to lead the rebellion against the evil Empire. And to blame herself for things not in her control, like what happened in Alderaan, it just wasn't fair. He focused back to Leia, who was only sniffing now. He continued to rub her back and smooth her hair, which was now falling out of her braid and cascading down her back, in long thick locks.

Leia buried her face into his chest, and breathed in the smells of the Corellian. For a smuggler, he smelled fantastic. Leia felt safe in his arms— very safe. The two stayed like this for a while, just holding each other and listening to the beats of their own hearts. Then, they pulled away, and Leia wiped a few stray tears away. "I'm sorry…" She trailed off.

"No." Han answered almost instantaneously. "Don't be sorry. Don't ever be sorry again, okay?" Han was determined to make sure she never blamed herself for anything ever again. But when he decided to throw in a small joke to ease the atmosphere. "Well, unless you do something _totally_ crazy like crash the Millennium Falcon into a snowy mountainside."

This made Leia chuckle a little, in return making Han smile. "No promises, flyboy."

The two made their way to her room, stopping in front of the door. "Thank you, Han. It's been…really nice talking."

"Of course, _sweetheart._ Anytime." Han flashed a smile and wink at her, before setting off to his own room. He half expected her to make a nasty comment about calling her sweetheart, but instead, from the corner of his eye, he could see her actually smiling.

Leia alone with her thoughts, was thinking about the encounter she just had with Han. It was certainly interesting, that's for sure. Yes, he was infuriating, and sometimes the two could barely stand to be in the same room together. But tonight was different. She opened up to him about things she kept inside for so long; secrets and emotions that she never thought she could tell to anybody. And they way he comforted her. At that moment, despite all the times they bickered and quarreled, she knew he genuinely cared about her. And that made Leia's heart flutter. She could rely on someone to talk to when things were difficult, or when things bothered her. She had someone in her life that cared about her well-being, and that was very reassuring.

And for once in her life, Leia felt safe.

* * *

And with that, my first fanfiction is complete! If you enjoyed reading, please do leave a review! They mean a lot to me and motivate me to write more :)


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